Metformin Increases Ovulation and Pregnancy Rates in Women with PCOS

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) not only are anovulatory and infertile but also have metabolic disturbances, including hyperandrogenism, relative insulin resistance, and hypercholesterolemia. Results of several studies have documented that metformin will correct these metabolic abnormalities in many PCOS-affected patients. This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted by an NIH-supported consortium of fertility-center investigators to test the hypothesis that women with PCOS who fail to ovulate in response to clomiphene citrate (CC; the initial approach to inducing ovulation in these patients) will ovulate and conceive if metformin is added.

Participants received metformin (500 mg 3 times dail…